Review of Portals

Satwik Mohanty · Post by **Satwik Mohanty** » 15 Jul 2021, 00:23

[Following is a volunteer review of "Portals" by Jon Zimmer.]

2 out of 4 stars

Share This Review

Portals by Jon Zimmer is a marvelous story of fantasy and truth. This book deals with some real-world issues like global warming, wars, racism, and wealth disparity. In this book, we follow the life of Joe Huntley, a gifted academic and prodigious football player. He comes from a wealthy family and has a girlfriend, Mary, who supports him during every step in his journey. Joe is privileged as he enjoys the best things in life because wealth is not a problem. He acknowledges the fact that he is privileged and decides to dedicate his life to meaningful causes. He's particularly adamant about providing free education for all and the negative impacts of climate change on the entire population.

During the story, Joe finds his life slipping away in many situations. Every time this happens, he finds himself in an unfamiliar room full of bright white mist. Joe locates many doors or portals in this space with a different word above each. He's a bit confused at first, but after a few visits, he recognizes this place and knows what to do next. After picking a portal, Joe returns to his life at the exact moment where he left with no memory of the strange place. Every time Joe enters this place, he has to choose a door that will determine the path of his life when he gets back.

What piqued my interest were the issues talked about in this book. It talks about the impact of racism, wars, and climate change in was was interesting to read and properly aligned with the flow of the story. The author did a great job at stating the problems and their impacts on us if we don't address them immediately. But the thing I loved most was the characters. The many characters Joe interacted with had brilliant personalities and helped Joe in his cause, one way or another. Everything he experienced and everyone he interacted with gave him even more reasons to be dedicated to his cause.

The thing I did not get was the concept of the portals. The portals and the events that happened in the mist were not of much importance to the story. They did not have any notable impact on the main storyline. If the portals did not exist and the events leading to them never happened, everything would be the same as before. Also, I found a lot of spelling and grammatical errors in this book. It was not professionally edited and needed another round of proofreading. For these reasons, I would rate it 2 out of 4 stars.

The book does not contain any profanity or explicit sexual scenes. But it has a few violent scenes. All in all, Portals by Jon Zimmer is a good read for anyone open-minded and interested in social issues. But people who want a good story and don't prefer philosophy should not pick this book.

******
Portals
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

Raluca_Mihaila · Post by **Raluca_Mihaila** » 30 Jul 2021, 11:15

It seems like the book touches many concepts. I appreciated your balanced and honest review!

Uzo_Reviews · Post by **Uzo_Reviews** » 31 Jul 2021, 23:26

I think this book can serve as an eye-opener. Using fiction to address societal issues is great. Your review was insightful.

Satwik Mohanty · Post by **Satwik Mohanty** » 01 Aug 2021, 10:06

Raluca_Mihaila wrote: ↑30 Jul 2021, 11:15 It seems like the book touches many concepts. I appreciated your balanced and honest review!

It's true, the book discusses a lot of modern-day problems. Problems that need quick attention.

Satwik Mohanty · Post by **Satwik Mohanty** » 01 Aug 2021, 10:08

Uzo_Reviews wrote: ↑31 Jul 2021, 23:26 I think this book can serve as an eye-opener. Using fiction to address societal issues is great. Your review was insightful.

That's what I liked about it. Using fiction to address these issues is uncommon and thoughtful.

D G M · Post by **D G M** » 08 Sep 2021, 21:56

The idea of portals sounds quite interesting. Using fiction to adress real issues is also interesting. Thanks for sharing your opinion.

GYRO · Post by **GYRO** » 08 Sep 2021, 23:29

I too felt that the portals were kinda useless. It was just like resurrecting the dead characters, not much came from the choices provided by the portals.

Satwik Mohanty · Post by **Satwik Mohanty** » 20 Sep 2021, 00:03

D G M wrote: ↑08 Sep 2021, 21:56 The idea of portals sounds quite interesting. Using fiction to address real issues is also interesting. Thanks for sharing your opinion.

The author does an amazing job at portraying such issues. I'm sure you will enjoy the book. Thanks for stopping by!

Satwik Mohanty · Post by **Satwik Mohanty** » 20 Sep 2021, 00:05

GYRO wrote: ↑08 Sep 2021, 23:29 I too felt that the portals were kinda useless. It was just like resurrecting the dead characters, not much came from the choices provided by the portals.

You're right. THe choices given by the portals had little to no effect on the story. Thanks for stopping by!